


Ignis

by Noemi_Artistries



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Ghost Keith (Voltron), Pidge is determined, Post-Season/Series 04, everyone is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 08:06:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13994064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noemi_Artistries/pseuds/Noemi_Artistries
Summary: The universe didn’t know what the absence of Keith Kogane would bring. But when Voltron’s fire was in ashes, they realized that the world felt a lot colder without the former Paladin. Now the remaining five paladins are freezing in a world where they will never be able to talk to the Lost Paladin again. Or so they thought.





	Ignis

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a bit old, but I wanted to post this here. I hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> Feedback is greatly appreciated! :)

“No.”

Allura winced at the three Paladin’s response to her question.

“Guys, I’m not against anything but… overworking yourselves will do more harm than good.”

Lance looked up from carrying a tower of boxes, which he had set down on the floor. “We aren’t overworking ourselves.” He replied sternly.

Hunk nodded while he was looking over Pidge’s shoulder at the computer. “Yeah Allura. It’s almost done anyways.”

Allura sighed, knowing that it was hopeless to argue against them. It was their own only hope after all.

Their last shot at talking to Keith.

It was a myth, in Altea, that if one were to save the memories of the dead, _all of them_ , their spirit still resides in the mortal world. That was how Allura had spoken with her father. Unfortunately, once the memories are lost, so is the spirit’s last connection to the mortal world.

Her father’s memory did not have enough firewalls around it, so when the Galra crystal infected the systems, Allura had to destroy it in order to get rid of her father’s corrupted spirit.

It was Pidge’s idea to try and save Keith.

At first everyone thought she was talking baloney. But when she actually said that since Keith had only recently… passed,... it might be possible to revive his memories, just like Alfor.

So Pidge and Hunk had been at it for the past 20 hours, designing and redesigning the system so that the memory extraction could work and that the extracted memories would be protected from viruses. Lance had been their errand boy all day long. He didn’t seem like he minded though.

This entire time Shiro was in the Castle Sepulcrum, leaning against Keith’s tomb.

Allura slowly walked away, entering the doors of her bedroom, where she sat down on her bed, the mice beside her.

Even they looked melancholy. Allura picked up one of her pillows and hugged it, burying her face in her arms. Everything has gone by so fast.

They were so close to winning, to freeing a third of the Galra Empire. And yet, Haggar still managed to get the upper hand. Turning Naxzela into a bomb, Voltron, the Coalition, and all the rebels were about to be destroyed in one fell swoop.

And yet, they still succeeded.

 

* * *

 

“Keith no!”

Those were the words that each and every Paladin heard right before Coran brought the news that Naxzela was returning back to normal.

Shiro had smiled as he congratulated the former Paladin of their family on his success in saving them all.

Static had replied back to Shiro.

And a heartbroken Captain Olia and Matt that told them to get to the Coalition immediately. That something really horrible had happened.

Allura suddenly remembered talking to Keith about his heritage, and their hug. She remembered his promise to come back to them.

Hunk remembered his mission with Keith to the Weblum. He remembered the joke that Keith cracked up when they were traveling through the monster’s belly.

Lance remembered all the moments when he teased Keith and yelled at him for being a bad leader. He remembered consoling to him when he was worried about being the odd Paladin out.

Pidge remembered arguing with him when she tried to leave Voltron all those months ago. She remembered his smile when he welcomed her back onto the team after the Galra invasion of the Castle.

And Shiro remembered a younger Keith, smiling to him hopefully while he ranted on about the Kerberos mission on Launching Day. He remembered Keith telling him to come back in one piece when he was showing him the ship.

All the Paladins suddenly felt very cold as they made their way to rebel base. Shiro ran out of his lion, the Paladins following in suit. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Matt carrying something wrapped in blankets.

Shiro shook his head before running to Matt, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was wrapped up in the blanket.

Matt gently laid the former Paladin on the ground, hand resting on the dead soldier’s forehead. Matt’s eyes were closed, refusing to look at anyones. Olia and Rolo had sorrowful looks on their faces. No one dared to face any of the Paladins.

Shiro sank to his knees. He gently cradled Keith’s head in his hand, fingers running through blood stained hair.

Shiro barely noticed the tears staining his helmet as he shakily spoke. “Come on… You can’t do this Keith… Stop joking around… I come back and now you… Come on, little brother… You… you…”

Shiro bowed his head, going silent, allowing the tears to flow, oblivious to the other Paladins around him now. His world was now only Keith’s peaceful, sleeping face in his hand.

Pidge stared at Keith’s dead body, the image of the thousands of graves suddenly fogging her mind. The image refused to leave. In place of Matt’s grave was now one that read _Keith Kogane. 10.23.1998._ Pidge cried out in pain as tears rushed from her eyes like a waterfall.

Lance had a stoic expression on his face. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. Keith Kogane, best pilot in the Garrison. Keith Kogane, the Red Paladin. Keith Kogane, the once leader of Voltron. Keith Kogane, _dead_.

“Y-You can’t do this Mullet!” Lance suddenly yelled, tears streaming down. “We just started to get along. You can’t do this! Come on! Come back! Come back like you always do… Please!”

Hunk was crying, his eyes red and stinging. He couldn’t believe it. Keith didn’t even get to visit them again. He was planning his birthday too. He was going to plan with the others to buy him a hippo. Make the best milkshakes with Lance. Show him how much he mattered.

Allura sank to the ground next to Shiro, covering her mouth to prevent her scream of agony.

_“Please, come back to us…”_

_“I promise.”_

Allura cried, memories of ignoring Keith for being Galra plaguing her mind.

“No… Please no… I can’t lose another…” Allura cried, tears plastered to her face. She already lost so much family. She couldn’t lose more.

Matt still held onto Keith, head hanging in shame, wishing he could have done more. Done more for the Paladin and rebel comrade he was starting to see as a brother.

He had known Keith a little from the Garrison, and had gotten to know him more from recent missions. Matt had known this was war. But to see the former Paladin now unmoving and cold in his arms,... Matt didn’t stop the tears that came down his face.

Coran ran to the group, refusing to believe he had seen yet another Paladin die at the hands on Zarkon. And when he finally saw Keith, he sank to his knees and covered his face with his hands. _This can’t be happening..._

All the rebels stood there, heads hanging low as the Rebellion mourned the loss of a Paladin.

While all mortals shed tears, the Lions of Voltron hang their heads in dismay, failure and loss overcoming the ancient beasts. The Red Lion roared, but their was lost determination in her voice.

A fire that has now been put out.

 

* * *

 

Allura woke up to find Coran slightly nudging her to wake up.

“Princess, Pidge has called all of us to the hanger.”

The two of them raced to the Green Lion’s hanger, and was met by the rest of the Paladins, and a memory storage tank and system ready. Next to all that, was Keith’s tomb. There were a couple of memory extraction devices plastered onto the glass cover.

Allura sat down next to Shiro, who was sitting, leaning against the tomb. Lance was sitting while leaning against the memory machine, Hunk following in suite.

Pidge was at her computer, inputting random commands. Matt was next to her, rereading all of her code.

Coran stayed standing, looking over all the Paladins, unsure of what to think anymore.

Pidge suddenly perked up, Matt following in suite. She made sure everyone was here.

“Are you guys ready?”

Everyone nodded solemnly.

“Are you sure this will work Pidge?” He asked.

Pidge looked at Lance, light shining on her glasses, masking her emotions.

“It has to.”

She then presses the button.

“We give it 24 hours.”

 

* * *

 

The day Keith’s funeral was held was the worst days of Lance’s life.

And that’s saying something, since some pretty horrible things have happened to him. Everything that occured after the news of Keith’s untimely death was a blur for everyone.

The guilt, the pain refused to leave Lance. He, despite everything, missed Mullet dang it. He wanted to talk to him, tease him, heck argue with him if it meant that he was alive. He wanted to tell him that it should have been him that left Voltron.

Keith was better at piloting than Lance, he was a better right-hand man than Lance. It was kind of annoying. If Shiro had listened to him, if he had just accepted him as his right-hand man, then maybe Keith would not have resulted to running himself into the shield to save everyone. If Voltron had made it to the ship Haggar was in, they would have been able to destroy the shield and Keith would not have died.

Lance had refused to look at Shiro in the eye after that. He blamed himself, but he blamed Shiro more. There was something off about him since they found him, and now Shiro’s recklessness cost them Keith.

Lance didn’t really get Shiro’s behavior all too much. Maybe he was just feeling frustrated that the Black Lion rejected him and he took it out on Keith, because he knew that Keith wouldn’t argue with him. He purposely interjected in Keith’s orders and argued with him on how to lead. And when Keith finally started to believe that he wasn’t cut out for this leading, despite all of Lance’s reassurances, he left the team, leaving Lance as Shiro’s right-hand man.  

It was so frustrating. He liked being Keith’s right-hand man. Mullet actually listened to his input. Shiro ignored him. If he hadn’t ignored him, then Keith might have not…

And it didn’t help the fact that Keith himself was destroying Lance, no all the Paladins from the inside. What or who told him that getting himself killed was a good idea? Despite all of the rebels praise for Keith, saying that without his sacrifice, they’d all be dead, Lance couldn’t shake the thought out of his mind.

What was even worse was that once the battle was long done, stupid, idiot Lotor makes his way to the Paladins, his last chance at haven from his ludicrous father. If this idiot had come sooner, they might have been able to use his ship to break the barrier, saving Keith...

Lance shook his head to clear his head of the frustration. The entire Coalition and Rebellion was on Areis, with a platform that had a tomb. Stair led up to a group of Balmerans and Olkari reciting traditional funeral words to the crowd gathers. At the foot of the stairs were the Paladins, Coran, and Matt. In front of the entire crowd was Keith laying in his traditional clothing on the bed that was built into the tomb that was to be covered by day’s end.

Once the Balmerans and Olkari were done, they motioned for the Paladins, silently asking if they had any words to say.

Slowly, Allura got up and walked to the podium. She stood up, but not tall, like she usually did when preparing to make a speech.

“Greeting to all of you brave warriors. I…” For a moment, Allura faltered. “I had awoken from a 10,000 year sleep to meet the Paladins. I had awoken from 100 centuries worth of sleep to find that my original family had died. I awoke to find my new family, the Paladins. Keith was a warrior with a strong heart. He embodied what our mission was and… He has made me so proud. Without him, none of us would be here today. He was the mightest out of all of us.”

Allura turned around and and set a flower of Altean familirty on Keith’s tomb. She then walked back down the stairs and sat down.

Hunk walked up next. He looked out into the crowd. “Hello. You all know me as the Yellow Paladin. You all knew Keith as once the Red, then Black Paladin. I… I can go on for hours about why he was so special but… I think the biggest thing that I can say is that… His birthday is today. I was planning so much for today. None of those plans came to pass today. I want to say that he was a great partner and an amazing friend, no family.” Hunk set a sunflower on Keith’s tomb.

Pidge walked up next. “We are all here today because he did the unspeakable. He did something that most of us would never even begin to imagine doing. I argued with him, shared stories with him, consoled to him, and he listened and endured me. I… thought I found my family but now I lost one again… This time for g-good…” Pidge placed an pale orange tulip on Keith’s grave.

Lance looked down before facing the crowd. “He was originally a concept. He was someone to look up to, to beat. Despite how many times I teased him, argued with him, he was still amazing. He was the best pilot on my home planet and he inspired me to be who I am today. He and his stupid mullet made me who I am today. And I owe him everything for that.” Lance placed an iris on Keith’s grave.

For a moment, Shiro considered not even going up. But when Lance gave him a stern look, he slowly but steadily made his way to the podium.

He spoke slowly. “Keith Kogane was many things. He was a friend. A brother. He showed kindness in odd, yet endearing ways. He was brave and he was also crazy. Yet his craziness is the only reason we are here today. His sacrifice should not be in vain. We have to stay strong. He would want us to continue the mission. It’s going to be harder without him… But… But.. But we have to stay strong. For him. He was and will always be our Paladin of Voltron.” Shiro somehow made his way without crying to Keith’s tomb and placed a white rose.

Shiro felt goosebumps creep up as he saw how calm and peaceful Keith looked in eternal slumber. The image of his brother, the only thing that stayed the same in his life, was now dead. And yet, the Sacrificed Paladin looked to finally be at rest with himself.

The glass lid was placed on the tomb and Keith was carried out into the Castle. They were to decide later on where to bury him.

Later that night, when the Paladins and Coran just stayed in the lounge, drinking hot cocoa, Pidge had suddenly gotten up, spilling her drink.

The scientist looked to have an idea.

Lance didn’t know why, but he felt a little courage when he saw Pidge that way.

 

* * *

 

It had been 20 hours.

Everyone except for Pidge and Shiro had fallen asleep. Shiro had his face buried in his arms. He hadn’t spoken anything since Pidge started the memory extraction process. Pidge hadn’t either.

Pidge looked up to see Keith’s face. _He looks so peaceful…_ Pidge thought to herself. Memories of Keith flooded Pidge. She remembered something funny.

_“And they keep ranting about the Garrison.”_

_“I know right! Ha ha! Matt would never shut up about it.”_

_“Yeah, made me want to join too.”_

_“Me too.”_

_“You know Pidge,”_

_“Katie.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“You can call me Katie. And…”_

_“Yeah…?”_

_“Thanks Keith. For comforting me.”_

_“Heh, no problem,... Katie.”_

Pidge shook her head. It was so frustrating. She found her brother and now she lost another family member. She hates how Keith, despite getting himself killed, did save everyone. She hates how Zarkon and the Galra managed to take more of her family away from her, this time with the intention of permanent consequences.

But Pidge would show them.

She had to.

She gently walked up the the tomb and rested her head on the glass.

“Come on Keith… Please.”

After about two hours, even Shiro fell asleep, the days upon days of insomnia finally catching up to him.

Pidge hugged her knees, and started to cry. She failed. She failed to bring him back.

“I-” She hiccuped softly. “I’m sorry Keith.”

Silence rang through the Castle, and then a whisper.

“You don’t need to be sorry for anything.”

Pidge gasped as she turned around to see the memory tank sparkle as it started to fill slowly, but surely.

Tears of happiness started to stream as she rushed to the tank and hugged it. Lance and Hunk drowsily woke up and gasped as they saw the tank fill up. They cheered and woke the rest of them up.

Coran cheered in happiness while Shiro looked the happiest anyone has ever seen him. Allura smiled in happiness as she cried, walking up the the tomb.

“Welcome home Keith.”

The Paladins’ and Coran’s world had been cold for so long, Keith’s fire no longer smoldering within them.

But suddenly, those memories of Keith suddenly brought back their determination. There resolve. Their fire.

And from afar, one could hear the roar of the Red Lion, now sounding more determined than she has ever sounded before. The rest of the Lions of Voltron followed in suite.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a bit old, but I wanted to post this here. I hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> Feedback is greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Tell me if you guys want a follow-up to this story.


End file.
